3rd Special Forces Group repeats sniper victory

3rd Special Forces Group repeats sniper victory

1 / 9Show Caption +FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A Special Operations Forces sniper engages long range targets during the United States Army Special Operations Command's International Sniper Competition, where 23, two-man teams from special-operations, foreign-partners and law enforcement agencies put their skills to the test, March 20-24. (Photo courtesy of USAJFKSWCS) (Photo Credit: USAJFKSWCS)VIEW ORIGINAL2 / 9Show Caption +FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A foreign-partner sniper team engages moving targets from the top of a building during the United States Army Special Operations Command's International Sniper Competition, where 23, two-man teams from special-operations, foreign-partners and law enforcement agencies put their skills to the test, March 20-24. (Photo courtesy of USAJFKSWCS) (Photo Credit: USAJFKSWCS)VIEW ORIGINAL3 / 9Show Caption +(Photo Credit: U.S. Army)VIEW ORIGINAL4 / 9Show Caption +FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A Special Operations Forces sniper uses a window to identify and engage targets during the United States Army Special Operations Command's International Sniper Competition, where 23, two-man teams from special-operations, foreign-partners and law enforcement agencies put their skills to the test, March 20-24. (Photo courtesy of USAJFKSWCS) (Photo Credit: USAJFKSWCS)VIEW ORIGINAL5 / 9Show Caption +FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A Special Operations Forces sniper team engages targets at varying distances over a barrier during the United States Army Special Operations Command's International Sniper Competition, where 23, two-man teams from special-operations, foreign-partners and law enforcement agencies put their skills to the test, March 20-24. (Photo courtesy of USAJFKSWCS) (Photo Credit: USAJFKSWCS)VIEW ORIGINAL6 / 9Show Caption +FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A Special Operations Forces sniper engages targets through an obstacle during the United States Army Special Operations Command's International Sniper Competition, where 23, two-man teams from special-operations, foreign-partners and law enforcement agencies put their skills to the test, March 20-24. (Photo courtesy of USAJFKSWCS) (Photo Credit: USAJFKSWCS)VIEW ORIGINAL7 / 9Show Caption +FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A foreign-partner sniper team engages targets while standing during the United States Army Special Operations Command's International Sniper Competition, where 23, two-man teams from special-operations, foreign-partners and law enforcement agencies put their skills to the test, March 20-24. (Photo courtesy of USAJFKSWCS) (Photo Credit: USAJFKSWCS)VIEW ORIGINAL8 / 9Show Caption +FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A foreign-partner sniper team navigates across a rope bridge during the United States Army Special Operations Command's International Sniper Competition, where 23, two-man teams from special-operations, foreign-partners and law enforcement agencies put their skills to the test, March 20-24. (Photo courtesy of USAJFKSWCS) (Photo Credit: USAJFKSWCS)VIEW ORIGINAL9 / 9Show Caption +FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A spotter and sniper engage long range targets at night during the United States Army Special Operations Command's International Sniper Competition, where 23, two-man teams from special-operations, foreign-partners and law enforcement agencies put their skills to the test, March 20-24. (Photo courtesy of USAJFKSWCS) (Photo Credit: USAJFKSWCS)VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- For the second year in a row, a team from the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) team took home the top prize at the 9th Annual United States Army Special Operations Command International Sniper Competition, 20-24 March.

The competition saw 23, two-man teams from special operations forces, government agencies and military forces from Germany, Ireland, France, Netherlands, Italy and the United States pitted against each other in events testing their abilities in 20 challenging events, events ranging from stress shoots, moving targets, night engagements and multiple long shot ranges, over the course of five days.

Consistent training in stalking, target acquisition and shooting helps the teams meet a series of prerequisites required to enter the competition. Participants from the U.S. military are from USASOC units and must be graduates of their service's sniper course. There are a few exceptions to this rule, instructors from the U.S. Army's Sniper School and the U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper School are allowed to compete as a professional courtesy. A number of foreign special operations units are also invited to compete along with select U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Special Response Teams.

Each year the events change making the competition unlike any other sniper competition. The events are created by the instructors of the Special Forces Sniper Course. This year, the SFSC team added a unique element generating a new level of strategy in the competition. Each team was given a "wild card" at the start of the competition that they could use to opt out of an event, but still earn 50 of the 100 points possible.

Not only is it tough to hit the targets every time, but the competitors are also racing against the clock. Each event has time limits ranging from three to eight minutes along with a limited amount of ammunition.

The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, the U.S. Army's Special Operations Center of Excellence's Special Forces Sniper Course Cadre administered the competition. The SOCoE is home to multiple elite training courses.

This works. But when I saw "victory" I had hoped to see something like:

3d SFG snipers wipe out entire regiment of ISIS with single shots to the face. Then they called for air support to clean up the sister regiment which was hurriedly called in to relieve the original martyrs.

3d group guys reported hearing loud lamentations from goats and a few smelly camels, as their enemies were driven before them.

"It was really touch and go there for a few hours", one of the riflemen reported. "I ran out of dip and we couldn't get any more dropped til almost 2300. But the SOAR cats were great and tied IR chemlites to rolls of Copehagen, which they dropped inside our position, and we were able to keep fighting." Another chimed in: "It was like shooting prairie dogs back home in Wyoming- The smellies just kept popping up at all different distances. We did the same thing here as there. On a confirmed hit we put the empty shell case back in the box headstamp up. Misses we put in case mouth up to represent those that got back down their hole. There was not many case mouths up..."

There was a tv series that covered this event a few years back and gave a rundown of some (I assume not all) of the stages. That was 5+ years ago maybe; some pics I've seen of this comp lead me to believe they've added new stuff (or didn't show the atypical stuff for the masses).

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